Ad Catholici Sacerdotii

Encyclical on the Catholic Priesthood
His Holiness Pope Pius XI
December 20, 1935

To our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.

BY THE INSCRUTABLE DESIGN of Divine Providence We were raised to this
summit of the Catholic priesthood. From that moment Our thoughts were
turned to all the innumerable children whom God entrusted to Us. Yet, in
a special way, We have felt an affectionate and earnest solicitude
towards those who have the commission to be "the salt of the earth and
the light of the world," for those who have been signaled out and adorned
by the priestly character. In a still more special way Our thoughts have
turned towards those dearly beloved young students who are being educated
in the shadow of the sanctuary and are preparing themselves for this most
noble charge, the priesthood.

2. Even in the first months of Our Pontificate, before We had addressed
Our solemn word to the whole Catholic world, We hastened to lay stress
upon the principles and ideals which ought to guide and inspire the
education of future priests. This we did by Our Apostolic Letter
Officiorum omnium written on the first of August, 1922, to Our beloved
son, the Cardinal Prefect of the sacred Congregation for Seminaries and
Universities. And whenever Our pastoral watchfulness prompts Us to
consider more in particular the good estate and the needs of the Church,
Our attention is directed always, and before all things else, to priests
and clergy.

3. Nor is there lacking witness to this Our special interest in the
priesthood. For We have erected many new seminaries; and others We have,
at great expense, provided with new and befitting buildings, or endowed
more liberally with revenues or staff, that they may the more worthily
attain their high aim.

4. Upon the occasion of Our Sacerdotal Jubilee, We allowed that event, so
blessed in its memories, to be celebrated with some solemnity, and We
even encouraged with fatherly gratification the marks of filial affection
which came to Us from every part of the globe. Our reason was that We
regarded this celebration not so much as a homage to Our Person, as a
dutiful tribute of honor to the dignity of the priestly character.

5. Similarly, We decreed a reform of studies in ecclesiastical faculties,
by the Apostolic Constitution Deus scientiarum Dominus, of the
twenty-fourth of May, 1931. Our special purpose in this decree was to
make even broader and higher the culture and learning of priests.

6. This matter, indeed, is of so great and universal importance that We
think fitting to devote to it a special Encyclical; since it is Our
desire that the faithful, who already possess the priceless gift of
Faith, may appreciate the sublimity of the Catholic Priesthood and its
providential mission in the world; that those, too, who do not yet
possess the Faith, but with uprightness and sincerity are in search of
Truth, may share this appreciation with the faithful; above all, that
those who are themselves called may have still deeper understanding and
esteem of their vocation. This subject is particularly opportune at the
present moment, for it is the end of the year which has seen extended,
beyond the Eternal City to the whole Catholic world, the Jubilee of the
Redemption. This Extraordinary Jubilee, at Lourdes, came, like a sunset,
to a splendid close. There, under the mantle of the Immaculate, for a
fervent and uninterrupted Eucharistic Triduum, gathered together Catholic
clergy of every tongue and rite. Our beloved and venerated priests, never
more energetic in well-doing than during this special Holy Year, are the
ministers of the Redemption of which this year was the Jubilee. Moreover,
this year, as We said in the Apostolic Constitution Quod nuper,
commemorated, likewise, the nineteenth centenary of the institution of
the priesthood.

7. Our previous Encyclicals were directed to throwing the light of
Catholic doctrine upon the gravest of the problems peculiar to modern
life. Our present Encyclical finds a natural place among these others,
opportunely supplementing them. The priest is, indeed, both by vocation
and divine commission, the chief apostle and tireless furtherer of the
Christian education of youth; in the name of God, the priest blesses
Christian marriage, and defends its sanctity and indissolubility against
the attacks and evasions suggested by cupidity and sensuality; the priest
contributes more effectively to the solution, or at least the mitigation,
of social conflicts, since he preaches Christian brotherhood, declares to
all their mutual obligations of justice and charity, brings peace to
hearts embittered by moral and economic hardship, and alike to rich and
poor points out the only true riches to which all men both can and should
aspire. Finally, the priest is the most valorous leader in that crusade
of expiation and penance to which We have invited all men of good will.
For there is need of reparation for the blasphemies, wickedness and
crimes which dishonor humanity today, an age perhaps unparalleled in its
need for the mercy and pardon of God. The enemies of the Church
themselves well know the vital importance of the priesthood; for against
the priesthood in particular, as We have already had to lament in the
case of Our dear Mexico, they direct the point of their attacks. It is
the priesthood they desire to be rid of; that they may clear the way for
that destruction of the Church, which has been so often attempted yet
never achieved.

8. The human race has always felt the need of a priesthood: of men, that
is, who have the official charge to be mediators between God and
humanity, men who should consecrate themselves entirely to this
mediation, as to the very purpose of their lives, men set aside to offer
to God public prayers and sacrifices in the name of human society. For
human society as such is bound to offer to God public and social worship.
It is bound to acknowledge in Him its Supreme Lord and first beginning,
and to strive toward Him as to its last end, to give Him thanks and offer
Him propitiation. In fact, priests are to be found among all peoples
whose customs are known, except those compelled by violence to act
against the most sacred laws of human nature. They may, indeed, be in the
service of false divinities; but wherever religion is professed, wherever
altars are built, there also is a priesthood surrounded by particular
marks of honor and veneration.

9. Yet in the splendor of Divine Revelation the priest is seen invested
with a dignity far greater still. This dignity was foreshadowed of old by
the venerable and mysterious figure of Melchisedech, Priest and King,
whom St. Paul recalls as prefiguring the Person and Priesthood of Christ
Our Lord Himself.

10. The priest, according to the magnificent definition given by St. Paul
is indeed a man Ex hominibus assumptus, "taken from amongst men," yet pro
hominibus constituitur in his quae sunt ad Deum, "ordained for men in the
things that appertain to God": his office is not for human things, and
things that pass away, however lofty and valuable these may seem; but for
things divine and enduring. These eternal things may, perhaps, through
ignorance, be scorned and contemned, or even attacked with diabolical
fury and malice, as sad experience has often proved, and proves even
today; but they always continue to hold the first place in the
aspirations, individual and social, of humanity, because the human heart
feels irresistibly it is made for God and is restless till it rests in
Him.

11. The Old Law, inspired by God and promulgated by Moses, set up a
priesthood, which was, in this manner, of divine institution; and
determined for it every detail of its duty, residence and rite. It would
seem that God, in His great care for them, wished to impress upon the
still primitive mind of the Jewish people one great central idea. This
idea throughout the history of the chosen people, was to shed its light
over all events, laws, ranks and offices: the idea of sacrifice and
priesthood. These were to become, through faith in the future Messias, a
source of hope, glory, power and spiritual liberation. The temple of
Solomon, astonishing in richness and splendor, was still more wonderful
in its rites and ordinances. Erected to the one true God as a tabernacle
of the divine Majesty upon earth, it was also a sublime poem sung to that
sacrifice and that priesthood, which, though type and symbol, was still
so august, that the sacred figure of its High Priest moved the conqueror
Alexander the Great, to bow in reverence; and God Himself visited His
wrath upon the impious king Balthasar because he made revel with the
sacred vessels of the temple. Yet that ancient priesthood derived its
greatest majesty and glory from being a foretype of the Christian
priesthood; the priesthood of the New and eternal Covenant sealed with
the Blood of the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, true God and true
Man.

12. The Apostle of the Gentiles thus perfectly sums up what may be said
of the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood:
Sic nos existimet homo Ut ministros Christi et dispensatores mysteriorum
Dei--"Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the
dispensers of the mysteries of God." The priest is the minister of
Christ, an instrument, that is to say, in the hands of the Divine
Redeemer. He continues the work of the redemption in all its
world-embracing universality and divine efficacy, that work that wrought
so marvelous a transformation in the world. Thus the priest, as is said
with good reason, is indeed "another Christ"; for, in some way, he is
himself a continuation of Christ. "As the Father hath sent Me, I also
send you," is spoken to the priest, and hence the priest, like Christ,
continues to give "glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men
of good will."

13. For, in the first place, as the Council of Trent teaches, Jesus
Christ at the Last Supper instituted the sacrifice and the priesthood of
the New Covenant: "our Lord and God, although once and for all, by means
of His death on the altar of the cross, He was to offer Himself to God
the Father, that thereon He might accomplish eternal Redemption; yet
because death was not to put an end to his priesthood, at the Last
Supper, the same night in which He was betrayed in order to leave to His
beloved spouse the Church, a sacrifice which should be visible (as the
nature of man requires), which should represent that bloody sacrifice,
once and for all to be completed on the cross, which should perpetuate
His memory to the end of time, and which should apply its saving power
unto the remission of sins we daily commit, showing Himself made a priest
forever according to the order of Melchisedech, offered to God the
Father, under the appearance of bread and wine, His Body and Blood,
giving them to the apostles (whom He was then making priests of the New
Covenant) to be consumed under the signs of these same things, and
commanded the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood to offer
them, by the words 'Do this in commemoration of Me.' "

14. And thenceforth, the Apostles, and their successors in the
priesthood, began to lift to heaven that "clean oblation" foretold by
Malachy, through which the name of God is great among the gentiles. And
now, that same oblation in every part of the world and at every hour of
the day and night, is offered and will continue to be offered without
interruption till the end of time: a true sacrificial act, not merely
symbolical, which has a real efficacy unto the reconciliation of sinners
with the Divine Majesty.

15. "Appeased by this oblation, the Lord grants grace and the gift of
repentance, and forgives iniquities and sins, however great." The reason
of this is given by the same Council in these words: "For there is one
and the same Victim, there is present the same Christ who once offered
Himself upon the Cross, who now offers Himself by the ministry of
priests, only the manner of the offering being different."

16. And thus the ineffable greatness of the human priest stands forth in
all its splendor; for he has power over the very Body of Jesus Christ,
and makes It present upon our altars. In the name of Christ Himself he
offers It a victim infinitely pleasing to the Divine Majesty. "Wondrous
things are these," justly exclaims St. John Chrysostom, "so wonderful,
they surpass wonder."

17. Besides this power over the real Body of Christ, the priest has
received other powers, august and sublime, over His Mystical Body of
Christ, a doctrine so dear to St. Paul; this beautiful doctrine that
shows us the Person of the Word-made-Flesh in union with all His
brethren. For from Him to them comes a supernatural influence, so that
they, with Him as Head, form a single Body of which they are the members.
Now a priest is the appointed "dispenser of the mysteries of God," for
the benefit of the members of the mystical Body of Christ; since he is
the ordinary minister of nearly all the Sacraments,--those channels
through which the grace of the Savior flows for the good of humanity. The
Christian, at almost every important stage of his mortal career, finds at
his side the priest with power received from God, in the act of
communicating or increasing that grace which is the supernatural life of
his soul.

18. Scarcely is he born before the priest baptizing him, brings him by a
new birth to a more noble and precious life, a supernatural life, and
makes him a son of God and of the Church of Jesus Christ. To strengthen
him to fight bravely in spiritual combats, a priest invested with special
dignity makes him a soldier of Christ by holy chrism. Then, as soon as he
is able to recognize and value the Bread of Angels, the priest gives It
to him, the living and life-giving Food come down from Heaven. If he
fall, the priest raises him up again in the name of God, and reconciles
him to God with the Sacrament of Penance. Again, if he is called by God
to found a family and to collaborate with Him in the transmission of
human life throughout the world, thus increasing the number of the
faithful on earth and, thereafter, the ranks of the elect in Heaven, the
priest is there to bless his espousals and unblemished love; and when,
finally, arrived at the portals of eternity, the Christian feels the need
of strength and courage before presenting himself at the tribunal of the
Divine Judge, the priest with the holy oils anoints the failing members
of the sick or dying Christian, and reconsecrates and comforts him.

19. Thus the priest accompanies the Christian throughout the pilgrimage
of this life to the gates of Heaven. He accompanies the body to its
resting place in the grave with rites and prayers of immortal hope. And
even beyond the threshold of eternity he follows the soul to aid it with
Christian suffrages, if need there be of further purification and
alleviation. Thus, from the cradle to the grave the priest is ever beside
the faithful, a guide, a solace, a minister of salvation and dispenser of
grace and blessing.

20. But among all these powers of the priest over the Mystical Body of
Christ for the benefit of the faithful, there is one of which the simple
mention made above will not content Us. This is that power which, as St.
John Chrysostom says: "God gave neither to Angels nor Archangels"--the
power to remit sins. "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven
them: and whose sins you shall retain they are retained"; a tremendous
power, so peculiar to God that even human pride could not make the mind
conceive that it could be given to man. "Who can forgive sins but God
alone?" And, when we see it exercised by a mere man there is reason to
ask ourselves, not, indeed, with pharisaical scandal, but with reverent
surprise at such a dignity: "Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" But
it is so: the God-Man who possessed the "power on earth to forgive sins"
willed to hand it on to His priests; to relieve, in His divine generosity
and mercy, the need of moral purification which is rooted in the human
heart.

21. What a comfort to the guilty, when, stung with remorse and repenting
of his sins, he hears the word of the priest who says to him in God's
name: "I absolve thee from thy sins!" These words fall, it is true, from
the lips of one who, in his turn, must needs beg the same absolution from
another priest. This does not debase the merciful gift; but makes it,
rather, appear greater; since beyond the weak creature is seen more
clearly the hand of God through whose power is wrought this wonder. As an
illustrious layman has written, treating with rare competence of
spiritual things: ". . . when a priest, groaning in spirit at his own
unworthiness and at the loftiness of his office, places his consecrated
hands upon our heads; when, humiliated at finding himself the dispenser
of the Blood of the Covenant; each time amazed as he pronounces the words
that give life; when a sinner has absolved a sinner; we, who rise from
our knees before him, feel we have done nothing debasing. . . We have
been at the feet of a man who represented Jesus Christ, . . . we have
been there to receive the dignity of free men and of sons of God."

22. These august powers are conferred upon the priest in a special
Sacrament designed to this end: they are not merely passing or temporary
in the priest, but are stable and perpetual, united as they are with the
indelible character imprinted on his soul whereby he becomes "a priest
forever"; whereby he becomes like unto Him in whose eternal priesthood he
has been made a sharer. Even the most lamentable downfall, which, through
human frailty, is possible to a priest, can never blot out from his soul
the priestly character. But along with this character and these powers,
the priest through the Sacrament of Orders receives new and special grace
with special helps. Thereby, if only he will loyally further, by his free
and personal cooperation, the divinely powerful action of the grace
itself, he will be able worthily to fulfill all the duties, however
arduous, of his lofty calling. He will not be overborne, but will be able
to bear the tremendous responsibilities inherent to his priestly duty;
responsibilities which have made fearful even the stoutest champions of
the Christian priesthood, men like St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambose, St.
Gregory the Great, St. Charles and many others.

23. The Catholic priest is minister of Christ and dispenser of the
mysteries of God in another way, that is, by his words. The "ministry of
the word" is a right which is inalienable; it is a duty which cannot be
disallowed; for it is imposed by Jesus Christ Himself: "Going, therefore,
teach ye all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you." The Church of Christ, depository and infallible
guardian of divine revelation, by means of her priests, pours out the
treasures of heavenly truth; she preaches Him who is "the true Light
which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world"; she sows with
divine bounty that seed which is small and worthless to the profane eyes
of the world, but which is like the mustard seed of the Gospel. For it
has within itself power to strike strong deep roots in souls which are
sincere and thirsting for the truth, and make them like sturdy trees able
to withstand the wildest storms.

24. Amidst all the aberrations of human thought, infatuated by a false
emancipation from every law and curb; and amidst the awful corruptions of
human malice, the Church rises up like a bright lighthouse warning by the
clearness of its beam every deviation to right or left from the way of
truth, and pointing out to one and all the right course that they should
follow. Woe if ever this beacon should be--We do not say extinguished,
for that is impossible owing to the unfailing promises on which it is
founded--but if it should be hindered from shedding far and wide its
beneficent light! We see already with Our own eyes whither the world has
been brought by its arrogant rejection of divine revelation, and its
pursuit of false philosophical and moral theories that bear the specious
name of "science." That it has not fallen still lower down the slope of
error and vice is due to the guidance of the light of Christian truth
that always shines in the world. Now the Church exercises her "ministry
of the word" through her priests of every grade of the Hierarchy, in
which each has his wisely allotted place. These she sends everywhere as
unwearied heralds of the good tidings which alone can save and advance
true civilization and culture, or help them to rise again. The word of
the priest enters the soul and brings light and power; the voice of the
priest rises calmly above the storms of passion, fearlessly to proclaim
the truth, and exhort to the good; that truth which elucidates and solves
the gravest problems of human life; that good which no misfortune can
take from us, which death but secures and renders immortal.

25. Consider the truths themselves which the priest if faithful to his
ministry, must frequently inculcate. Ponder them one by one and dwell
upon their inner power; for they make plain the influence of the priest,
and how strong and beneficent it can be for the moral education, social
concord and peaceful development of peoples. He brings home to young and
old the fleeting nature of the present life; the perishableness of
earthly goods; the value of spiritual goods and of the immortal soul; the
severity of divine judgment; the spotless holiness of the divine gaze
that reads the hearts of all; the justice of God, which "will render to
every man according to his works." These and similar lessons the priest
teaches; a teaching fitted indeed to moderate the feverish search for
pleasure, and the uncontrolled greed for worldly goods, that debase so
much of modern life, and spur on the different classes of society to
fight one another like enemies, instead of helping one another like
friends. In this clash of selfish interest, and unleashed hate, and dark
plans of revenge, nothing could be better or more powerful to help, than
loudly to proclaim the "new commandment" of Christ. That commandment
enjoins a love which extends to all, knows no barriers nor national
boundaries, excludes no race, excepts not even its own enemies.

26. The experience of twenty centuries fully and gloriously reveals the
power for good of the word of the priest. Being the faithful echo and
reecho of the "word of God," which "is living and effectual and more
piercing than any two-edged sword,' it too reaches "unto the division of
the soul and spirit"; it awakens heroism of every kind, in every class
and place, and inspires the self forgetting deeds of the most generous
hearts. All the good that Christian civilization has brought into the
world is due, at least radically, to the word and works of the Catholic
priesthood. Such a past might, to itself, serve as sufficient guarantee
for the future; but we have a still more secure guarantee, "a more firm
prophetical word" in the infallible promises of Christ.

27. The work, too, of the Missions manifests most vividly the power of
expansion given by divine grace to the Church. This work is advanced and
carried on principally by priests. Pioneers of faith and love, at the
cost of innumerable sacrifices, they extend and widen the Kingdom of God
upon earth.

28. Finally, the priest, in another way, follows the example of Christ.
Of Him it is written that He "passed the whole night in the prayer of
God" and "ever lives to make intercession for us"; and like Him, the
priest, is public and official intercessor of humanity before God; he has
the duty and commission of offering to God in the name of the Church,
over and above sacrifice strictly so-called, the "sacrifice of praise,"
in public and official prayer; for several times each day with psalms,
prayers and hymns taken in great part from the inspired books, he pays to
God this dutiful tribute of adoration and thus performs his necessary
office of interceding for humanity. And never did humanity, in its
afflictions, stand more in need of intercession and of the divine help
which it brings. Who can tell how many chastisements priestly prayer
wards off from sinful mankind, how many blessings it brings down and
secures?

29. If Our Lord made such magnificent and solemn promises even to private
prayers, how much more powerful must be that prayer which is said ex
officio in the name of the Church, the beloved Spouse of the Savior? The
Christian, though in prosperity so often forgetful of God, yet in the
depth of his heart keeps his confidence in prayer, feels that prayer is
all powerful, and as by a holy instinct, in every distress, in every
peril whether private or public, has recourse with special trust to the
prayer of the priest. To it the unfortunate of every sort look for
comfort; to it they have recourse, seeking divine aid in all the
vicissitudes of this exile here on earth. Truly does the "priest occupy a
place midway between God and human nature: from Him bringing to us
absolving beneficence, offering our prayers to Him and appeasing the
wrathful Lord."

30. A last tribute to the priesthood is given by the enemies of the
Church. For as We have said on a previous page, they show that they fully
appreciate the dignity and importance of the Catholic priesthood, by
directing against it their first and fiercest blows; since they know well
how close is the tie that binds the Church to her priests. The most rabid
enemies of the Catholic priesthood are today the very enemies of God; a
homage indeed to the priesthood, showing it the more worthy of honor and
veneration.

31. Most sublime, then, Venerable Brethren, is the dignity of the
priesthood. Even the falling away of the few unworthy in the priesthood,
however deplorable and distressing it may be, cannot dim the splendor of
so lofty a dignity. Much less can the unworthiness of a few cause the
worth and merit of so many to be overlooked; and how many have been, and
are, in the priesthood, preeminent in holiness, in learning, in works of
zeal, nay, even in martyrdom.

32. Nor must it be forgotten that personal unworthiness does not hinder
the efficacy of a priest's ministry. For the unworthiness of the minister
does not make void the Sacraments he administers; since the Sacraments
derive their efficacy from the Blood of Christ, independently of the
sanctity of the instrument, or, as scholastic language expresses it, the
Sacraments work their effect ex opere operato.

33. Nevertheless, it is quite true that so holy an office demands
holiness in him who holds it. A priest should have a loftiness of spirit,
a purity of heart and a sanctity of life befitting the solemnity and
holiness of the office he holds. For this, as We have said, makes the
priest a mediator between God and man; a mediator in the place, and by
the command of Him who is "the one mediator of God and men, the man Jesus
Christ." The priest must, therefore, approach as close as possible to the
perfection of Him whose vicar he is, and render himself ever more and
more pleasing to God, by the sanctity of his life and of his deeds;
because more than the scent of incense, or the beauty of churches and
altars, God loves and accepts holiness. "They who are the intermediaries
between God and His people," says St. Thomas, "must bear a good
conscience before God, and a good name among men." On the contrary,
whosoever handles and administers holy things, while blameworthy in his
life, profanes them and is guilty of sacrilege: "They who are not holy
ought not to handle holy things."

34. For this reason even in the Old Testament God commanded His priests
and levites: "Let them therefore be holy because I am also holy: the Lord
who sanctify them." In his canticle for the dedication of the temple,
Solomon the Wise made this same request to the Lord in favor of the sons
of Aaron: "Let Thy priests be clothed with justice: and let Thy saints
rejoice." So, Venerable Brethren, may we not ask with St. Robert
Bellarmine: "If so great uprightness, holiness and lively devotion was
required of priests who offered sheep and oxen, and praised God for the
moral blessings; what, I ask, is required of those priests who sacrifice
the Divine Lamb and give thanks for eternal blessings?" "A great
dignity," exclaims St. Lawrence Justinian, "but great too is the
responsibility; placed high in the eyes of men they must also be lifted
up to the peak of virtue before the eye of Him who seeth all; otherwise
their elevation will be not to their merit but to their damnation."

35. And surely every reason We have urged in showing the dignity of the
Catholic priesthood does but reinforce its obligation of singular
holiness; for as the Angelic Doctor teaches: "To fulfill the duties of
Holy Orders, common goodness does not suffice; but excelling goodness is
required; that they who receive Orders and are thereby higher in rank
than the people, may also be higher in holiness." The Eucharistic
Sacrifice in which the Immaculate Victim who taketh away the sins of the
world is immolated, requires in a special way that the priest, by a holy
and spotless life, should make himself as far as he can, less unworthy of
God, to whom he daily offers that adorable Victim, the very Word of God
incarnate for love of us. Agnoscite quod agitis, imitamini quod
tractatis, "realize what you are doing, and imitate what you handle,"
says the Church through the Bishop to the deacons as they are about to be
consecrated priests. The priest is also the almoner of God's graces of
which the Sacraments are the channels; how grave a reproach would it be,
for one who dispenses these most precious graces were he himself without
them, or were he even to esteem them lightly and guard them with little
care.

36. Moreover, the priest must teach the truths of faith; but the truths
of religion are never so worthily and effectively taught as when taught
by virtue; because in the common saying: "Deeds speak louder than words."
The priest must preach the law of the Gospel; but for that preaching to
be effective, the most obvious and, by the Grace of God, the most
persuasive argument, is to see the actual practice of the law in him who
preaches it. St. Gregory the Great gives the reason: "The voice which
penetrates the hearts of the hearers, is the voice commended by the
speaker's own life; because what his word enjoins, his example helps to
bring about." This exactly is what Holy Scripture says of our Divine
Savior: He "began to do and to teach." And the crowds hailed Him, not so
much because "never did man speak like this man," but rather because "He
hath done all things well." On the other hand, they who "say and do not,"
practicing not what they preach, become like the scribes and Pharisees.
And Our Lord's rebuke to the other hand, they who "say and do not,"
practicing not what they preach, the word of God, was yet administered
publicly, in the presence of the listening crowd: "The Scribes and
Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore
whatsoever they shall say to you observe and do: but according to their
work do ye not." A preacher who does not try to ratify by his life's
example the truth he preaches, only pulls down with one hand what he
builds up with the other. On the contrary, God greatly blesses the labor
of those heralds of the gospel who attend first to their own holiness;
they see their apostolate flourishing and fruitful, and in the day of the
harvest, "coming they shall come with joyfulness carrying in their
sheaves."

37. It would be a grave error fraught with many dangers should the
priest, carried away by false zeal, neglect his own sanctification, and
become over immersed in the external works, however holy, of the priestly
ministry. Thereby, he would run a double risk. In the first place he
endangers his own salvation, as the great Apostle of the Gentiles feared
for himself: "But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a
castaway." In the second place he might lose, if not divine grace,
certainly that unction of the Holy Spirit which gives such a marvelous
force and efficacy to the external apostolate.

38. Now to all Christians in general it has been said: "Be ye perfect as
your Heavenly Father is perfect"; how much more then should the priest
consider these words of the Divine Master as spoken to himself, called as
he is by a special vocation to follow Christ more closely. Hence the
Church publicly urges on all her clerics this most grave duty, placing it
in the code of her laws: "Clerics must lead a life, both interior and
exterior, more holy than the laity, and be an example to them by
excelling in virtue and good works." And since the priest is an
ambassador for Christ, he should so live as to be able with truth to make
his own the words of the Apostle: "Be ye followers of me, as I also am of
Christ"; he ought to live as another Christ who by the splendor of His
virtue enlightened and still enlightens the world.

39. It is plain, then, that all Christian virtues should flourish in the
soul of the priest. Yet there are some virtues which in a very particular
manner attach themselves to the priest as most befitting and necessary to
him. Of these the first is piety, or godliness, according to the
exhortation of the Apostle to his beloved Timothy: Exerce . . .teipsum ad
pietatem, "exercise thyself unto godliness." Indeed the priest's
relations with God are so intimate, so delicate and so frequent, that
clearly they should ever be graced by the sweet odor of piety; if
"godliness is profitable to all things," it is especially profitable to a
right exercise of the priestly charge. Without piety the holiest
practices, the most solemn rites of the sacred ministry, will be
performed mechanically and out of habit; they will be devoid of spirit,
unction and life. But remark, Venerable Brethren, the piety of which We
speak is not that shallow and superficial piety which attracts but does
not nourish, is busy but does not sanctify. We mean that solid piety
which is not dependent upon changing mood or feeling. It is based upon
principles of sound doctrine; it is ruled by staunch convictions; and so
it resists the assaults and the illusions of temptation. This piety
should primarily be directed towards God our Father in Heaven; yet it
should be extended also to the Mother of God. The priest even more than
the faithful should have devotion to Our Lady, for the relation of the
priest to Christ is more deeply and truly like that which Mary bears to
her Divine Son.

40. It is impossible to treat of the piety of a Catholic priest without
being drawn on to speak, too, of another most precious treasure of the
Catholic priesthood, that is, of chastity; for from piety springs the
meaning and the beauty of chastity. Clerics of the Latin Church in higher
Orders are bound by a grave obligation of chastity; so grave is the
obligation in them of its perfect and total observance that a
transgression involves the added guilt of sacrilege.

41. Though this law does not bind, in all its amplitude, clerics of the
Oriental Churches, yet among them also, ecclesiastical celibacy is
revered; indeed in some cases, especially in the higher Orders of the
Hierarchy, it is a necessary and obligatory requisite.

42. A certain connection between this virtue and the sacerdotal ministry
can be seen even by the light of reason alone: since "God is a Spirit,"
it is only fitting that he who dedicates and consecrates himself to God's
service should in some way "divest himself of the body." The ancient
Romans perceived this fitness; one of their laws which ran Ad divos
adeunto caste, "approach the gods chastely," is quoted by one of their
greatest orators with the following comment: "The law orders us to
present ourselves to the gods in chastity--of spirit, that is, in which
are all things, or does this exclude chastity of the body, which is to be
understood, since the spirit is so far superior to the body; for it
should be remembered that bodily chastity cannot be preserved, unless
spiritual chastity be maintained." In the Old Law, Moses in the name of
God commanded Aaron and his sons to remain within the Tabernacle, and so
to keep continent, during the seven days in which they were exercising
their sacred functions.

43. But the Christian priesthood, being much superior to that of the Old
Law, demanded a still greater purity. The law of ecclesiastical celibacy,
whose first written traces pre-suppose a still earlier unwritten
practice, dates back to a canon of the Council of Elvira, at the
beginning of the fourth century, when persecution still raged. This law
only makes obligatory what might in any case almost be termed a moral
exigency that springs from the Gospel and the Apostolic preaching. For
the Divine Master showed such high esteem for chastity, and exalted it as
something beyond the common power; He Himself was the Son of a Virgin
Mother, Florem Matris Virginis, and was brought up in the virgin family
of Joseph and Mary; He showed special love for pure souls such as the two
Johns--the Baptist and the Evangelist. The great Apostle Paul, faithful
interpreter of the New Law and of the mind of Christ, preached the
inestimable value of virginity, in view of a more fervent service of God,
and gave the reason when he said: "He that is without a wife is
solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please
God." All this had almost inevitable consequences: the priests of the New
Law felt the heavenly attraction of this chosen virtue; they sought to be
of the number of those "to whom it is given to take this word," and they
spontaneously bound themselves to its observance. Soon it came about that
the practice, in the Latin Church, received the sanction of
ecclesiastical law. The Second Council of Carthage at the end of the
fourth century declared: "What the Apostles taught, and the early Church
preserved, let us too, observe."

44. In the Oriental Church, too, most illustrious Fathers bear witness to
the excellence of Catholic celibacy. In this matter as in others there
was harmony between the Latin and Oriental Churches where accurate
discipline flourished. St. Epiphanius at the end of the fourth century
tells us that celibacy applied even to the subdiaconate: "The Church does
not on any account admit a man living in the wedded state and having
children, even though he have only one wife, to the orders of deacon,
priest, bishop or subdeacon; but only him whose wife be dead or who
should abstain from the use of marriage; this is done in those places
especially where the ecclesiastical canons are accurately followed." The
Deacon of Edessa and Doctor of the Universal Church, well called the Harp
of the Holy Spirit, St. Ephraem, the Syrian, is particularly eloquent on
this matter. In one of his poems, addressed to his friend, the bishop
Abraham, he says: "Thou art true to thy name, Abraham, for thou also art
the father of many: but because thou hast no wife as Abraham had Sara,
behold thy flock is thy spouse. Bring up its children in thy truth; may
they become to thee children of the spirit and sons of the promise that
makes them heirs to Eden. O sweet fruit of chastity, in which the
priesthood finds its delights . . . the horn of plenty flowed over and
anointed thee, a hand rested on thee and chose thee out, the Church
desired thee and held thee dear." And in another place: "It is not enough
for the priest and the name of the priesthood, it is not enough, I say,
for him who offers up the living body, to cleanse his soul and tongue and
hand and make spotless his whole body; but he must at all times be
absolutely and preeminently pure, because he is established as a mediator
between God and the human race. May He be praised who made His servants
clean!" St. John Chrysostom affirms: "The priest must be so pure that, if
he were to be lifted up and placed in the heavens themselves, he might
take a place in the midst of the Angels."

45. In short the very height, or, to use St. Epiphanius' phrase, "the
incredible honor and dignity" of the Christian priesthood, which We have
briefly described, shows how becoming is clerical celibacy and the law
which enjoins it. Priests have a duty which, in a certain way, is higher
than that of the most pure spirits "who stand before the Lord." Is it not
right, then, that he live an all but angelic life? A priest is one who
should be totally dedicated to the things of the Lord. Is it not right,
then, that he be entirely detached from the things of the world, and have
his conversation in Heaven? A priest's charge is to be solicitous for the
eternal salvation of souls, continuing in their regard the work of the
Redeemer. Is it not, then, fitting that he keep himself free from the
cares of a family, which would absorb a great part of his energies?

46. And truly an ordination ceremony, frequent though it be in the
Catholic Church, never fails to touch the hearts of those present: how
admirable a sight, these young ordinands, who before receiving the
subdiaconate, before, that is, consecrating themselves utterly to the
service and the worship of God, freely renounce the joys and the
pleasures which might rightfully be theirs in another walk of life. We
say "freely," for though, after ordination, they are no longer free to
contract earthly marriage, nevertheless they advance to ordination itself
unconstrained by any law or person, and of their own spontaneous choice!

47. Notwithstanding all this, We do not wish that what We said in
commendation of clerical celibacy should be interpreted as though it were
Our mind in any way to blame, or, as it were, disapprove the different
discipline legitimately prevailing in the Oriental Church. What We have
said has been meant solely to exalt in the Lord something We consider one
of the purest glories of the Catholic priesthood; something which seems
to us to correspond better to the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and to His purposes in regard to priestly souls.

48. Not less than by his chastity, the Catholic priest ought to be
distinguished by his detachment. Surrounded by the corruptions of a world
in which everything can be bought and sold, he must pass through them
utterly free of selfishness. He must holily spurn all vile greed of
earthly gains, since he is in search of souls, not of money, of the glory
of God, not his own. He is no mercenary working for a temporal
recompense, nor yet an employee who, whilst attending conscientiously to
duties of his office, at the same time is looking to his career and
personal promotion; he is the "good soldier of Christ" who "entangleth
not himself with secular business: that he may please Him to whom he hath
engaged himself."

49. The minister of God is a father of souls; and he knows that his toils
and his cares cannot adequately be repaid with wealth and honors of
earth. He is not indeed forbidden to receive fitting sustenance,
according to the teaching of the Apostle: "They that serve the altar may
partake with the altar . . . so also the Lord ordained that they who
preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel." But once "called to the
inheritance of the Lord," as his very title "cleric" declares, a priest
must expect no other recompense than that promised by Christ to His
Apostles: "Your reward is very great in Heaven." Woe to the priest who,
forgetful of these divine promises should become "greedy of filthy
lucre." Woe if he join the herd of the worldly over whom the Church like
the Apostle grieves: "All seek the things that are their own: not the
things that are Jesus Christ's." Such a priest, besides failing in his
vocation, would earn the contempt even of his own people. They would
perceive in him the deplorable contradiction between his conduct and the
doctrine so clearly expounded by Christ, which the priest is bound to
teach: "Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust and
moth consume and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to
yourselves treasures in Heaven." Judas, an Apostle of Christ, "one of the
twelve," as the Evangelists sadly observe, was led down to the abyss of
iniquity precisely through the spirit of greed for earthly things.
Remembering him, it is easy to grasp how this same spirit could have
brought such harm upon the Church throughout the centuries: greed, called
by the Holy Spirit the "root of all evil," can incite to any crime; and a
priest who is poisoned by this vice, even though he stop short of crime,
will nevertheless, consciously or unconsciously, make common cause with
the enemies of God and of the Church, and cooperate in their evil designs.

50. On the other hand, by sincere disinterestedness the priest can hope
to win the hearts of all. For detachment from earthly goods, if inspired
by lively faith, is always accompanied by tender compassion towards the
unfortunate of every kind. Thus the priest becomes a veritable father of
the poor. Mindful of the touching words of his Savior, "As long as you
did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me," he sees in
them, and, with particular affection, venerates and loves Jesus Christ
Himself.

51. Thus the Catholic priest is freed from the bonds of a family and of
self-interest,--the chief bonds which could bind him too closely to
earth. Thus freed, his heart will more readily take flame from that
heavenly fire that burns in the Heart of Jesus; that fire that seeks only
to inflame apostolic hearts and through them "cast fire on all the
earth." This is the fire of zeal. Like the zeal of Jesus described in
Holy Scripture, the zeal of the priest for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls sought to consume him. It should make him forget
himself and all earthly things. It should powerfully urge him to dedicate
himself utterly to his sublime work, and to search out means ever more
effective for an apostolate ever wider and ever better.

52. The Good Shepherd said: "And other sheep I have that are not of this
fold; them also I must bring;" and again, "See the countries for they are
white already to the harvest." How can a priest meditate upon these words
and not feel his heart enkindled with yearning to lead souls to the Heart
of the Good Shepherd? How can he fail to offer himself to the Lord of the
harvest for unremitting toil? Our Lord saw the multitudes "Iying like
sheep that have no shepherd." Such multitudes are to be seen today not
only in the far distant lands of the missions, but also, alas! in
countries which have been Christian for centuries. How can a priest see
such multitudes and not feel deeply within himself an echo of that divine
pity which so often moved the Heart of the Son of God?--a priest, we say,
who is conscious of possessing the words of life and of having in his
hands the God-given means of regeneration and salvation?

53. But thanks be to God, it is just this flame of apostolic zeal which
is one of the brightest jewels in the crown of the Catholic priesthood.
Our heart fills with fatherly consolation at the sight of Our Brothers
and Our beloved Sons, Bishops and Priests, who like chosen troops ever
prompt to the call of their chief hasten to all outposts of this vast
field. There they engage in the peaceful but bitter warfare of truth
against error, of light against darkness, of the Kingdom of God against
the kingdom of Satan.

54. But, by its very nature as an active and courageous company, the
Catholic priesthood must have the spirit of discipline, or, to use a more
deeply Christian word, obedience. It is obedience which binds together
all ranks into the harmony of the Church's Hierarchy.

55. The Bishop, in his admonition to the ordinands, says: "With certain
wonderful variety Holy Church is clothed, made comely and is ruled; since
in her some are consecrated Pontiffs, and other priests of lesser degree,
and from many members of differing dignity there is formed one Body of
Christ." This obedience priests promised to the Bishop after Ordination,
the holy oil still fresh on their hands. On the day of his consecration
the Bishop, in his turn, swore obedience to the supreme visible Head of
the Church, the successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Let
then obedience bind ever closer together these various members of the
Hierarchy, one with another, and all with the Head; and thus make the
Church Militant a foe truly terrible to the enemies of God, ut castrorum
aciem ordinatam, "as an army set in array." Let obedience temper
excessive zeal on the one hand, and put the spur to weakness and
slackness on the other. Let it assign to each his place and station.
These each should accept without resistance; for otherwise the
magnificent work of the Church in the world would be sadly hindered. Let
each one see in the arrangement of his hierarchical Superiors the
arrangements of the only true Head, whom all obey: Jesus Christ, Our
Lord, who became for us "obedient unto death, even to the death of the
cross . "

56. The divine High Priest wished us to have abundant witness to His own
most perfect obedience to the Eternal Father; for this reason both the
Prophecies and the Gospels often testify to the entire submission of the
Son of God to the will of the Father. "When He cometh into the world He
saith; sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not: but a body Thou has
fitted to Me. . .Then said I: Behold I come. In the head of the book it
is written of Me that I should do Thy will, O God. . ." "My meat is to do
the will of Him that sent Me." On His very cross He consecrated
obedience. He did not wish to commit His soul into the hands of His
Father before having declared that all was fulfilled in Him that the
Sacred Scriptures had foretold; He had accomplished the entire charge
entrusted to Him by the Father, even to the last deeply mysterious "I
thirst," which He pronounced "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." By
these words He wished to show that zeal even the most ardent ought always
to be completely subjected to the will of the Father; that our zeal
should always be controlled by obedience to those who for us, have the
place of the Father, and convey to us His will, in other words our lawful
Superiors in the Hierarchy.

57. But the portrait of the Catholic priest which we intend to exhibit to
the world would be unfinished were We to omit another most important
feature,--learning. This the Church requires of him; for the Catholic
priest is set up as a "Master in Israel"; he has received from Jesus
Christ the office and commission of teaching truth: "Teach . . . all
nations." He must teach the truth that heals and saves; and because of
this teaching, like the Apostle of the Gentiles, he has a duty towards
"the learned and the unlearned." But how can he teach unless he himself
possess knowledge? "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they
shall seek the law at his mouth," said the Holy Spirit in the Prophecy of
Malachy. Who could ever utter a word in praise of sacerdotal learning
more weighty than that which divine Wisdom itself once spoke by the mouth
of Osee: "Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee that
thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to Me." The priest should have
full grasp of the Catholic teaching on faith and morals; he should know
how to present it to others; and he should be able to give the reasons
for the dogmas, laws and observances of the Church of which he is
minister. Profane sciences have indeed made much progress; but in
religious questions there is much ignorance still darkening the mind of
our contemporaries. This ignorance the priest must dispel. Never was more
pointed than today the warning of Tertullian, "Hoc unum gestit interdum
(veritas), ne ignorata damnetur," "This alone truth sometime craves, that
it be not condemned unheard." It is the 508 priest's task to clear away
from men's minds the mass of prejudices and misunderstandings which
hostile adversaries have piled up; the modern mind is eager for the
truth, and the priest should be able to point it out with serene
frankness; there are souls still hesitating, distressed by doubts, and
the priest should inspire courage and trust, and guide them with calm
security to the safe port of faith, faith accepted by both head and
heart; error makes its onslaughts, arrogant and persistent, and the
priest should know how to meet them with a defense vigorous and active,
yet solid and unruffled.

58. Therefore, Venerable Brethren, it is necessary that the priest, even
among the absorbing tasks of his charge, and ever with a view to it,
should continue his theological studies with unremitting zeal. The
knowledge acquired at the seminary is indeed a sufficient foundation with
which to begin; but it must be grasped more thoroughly, and perfected by
an ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of the sacred sciences.
Herein is the source of effective preaching and of influence over the
souls of others. Yet even more is required. The dignity of the office he
holds and the maintenance of a becoming respect and esteem among the
people, which helps so much in his pastoral work, demand more than purely
ecclesiastical learning. The priest must be graced by no less knowledge
and culture than is usual among well-bred and well-educated people of his
day. This is to say that he must be healthily modern, as is the Church,
which is at home in all times and all places, and adapts itself to all;
which blesses and furthers all healthy initiative and has no fear of the
progress, even the most daring progress, of science; if only it be true
science.

59. Indeed, in all ages the Catholic clergy has distinguished itself in
every field of human knowledge; in fact, in certain centuries it so took
the lead in the field of learning that the word "cleric" became
synonymous with "learned." The Church preserved and saved the treasures
of ancient culture, which without her and her monasteries would have been
almost entirely lost; and her most illustrious Doctors show that all
human knowledge can help to throw light upon and to defend the Catholic
faith. An illustrious example of this We Ourselves have recently called
to the world's attention. For We crowned with the halo of sanctity and
the glorious title of Doctor of the Church that great teacher of the
incomparable Aquinas: Albert of Cologne, whom his contemporaries had
already honored with the titles of Great and of Universal Doctor.

60. Today it could hardly be hoped that the clergy could hold a similar
primacy in every branch of knowledge; the range of human science has
become so vast that no man can comprehend it all, much less become
distinguished in each of its numberless branches. Nevertheless wise
encouragement and help should be given to those members of the clergy,
who, by taste and special gifts, feel a call to devote themselves to
study and research, in this or that branch of science, in this or that
art; they do not thereby deny their clerical profession; for all this,
undertaken within just limits and under the guidance of the Church,
redounds to the good estate of the Church and to the glory of her divine
Head, Jesus Christ. And among the rest of the clergy, none should remain
content with a standard of learning and culture which sufficed, perhaps,
in other times; they must try to attain--or, rather, they must actually
attain--a higher standard of general education and of learning. It must
be broader and more complete; and it must correspond to the generally
higher level and wider scope of modern education as compared with the
past.

61. Sometimes, it is true, and even in modern times, Our Lord makes the
world, as it were, His plaything; for He has been pleased to elect to the
priestly state men almost devoid of that learning of which We have been
speaking; and through them He has worked wonders. But He did this that
all might learn, if there be a choice, to prize holiness more than
learning; not to place more trust in human than in divine means. He did
this because the world has need, from time to time, to hear repeated that
wholesome, practical lesson: "The foolish things of the world hath God
chosen to confound the wise . . . that no flesh should glory in His
sight."

62. In the natural order, divine miracles suspend for a moment the effect
of physical laws, but do not revoke them. So, too, the case of these
Saints, real living miracles in whom high sanctity made up for all the
rest, does not make the lesson We have been teaching any the less true or
any the less necessary.

63. It is clear, then, that virtue and learning are required, that there
is need of example and of edification, need for the priest to spread on
all sides, and to all who draw near him "the good odor of Christ." This
need is today more keenly felt, and has become more evident and urgent.
This is because of Catholic Action, that movement so consoling, which has
within it the power to spur on to the very highest ideals of perfection.
Through Catholic Action the relations of the laity with priests are
becoming more frequent and more intimate. And in this collaboration, the
laity quite naturally look upon the priest not merely as a guide, but as
a model also of Christian life and of apostolic virtue.

64. The state of the priesthood is thus most sublime, and the gifts it
calls for very lofty. Hence, Venerable Brethren, the inescapable
necessity of giving candidates for the sanctuary a training
correspondingly superior.

65. Conscious of this necessity, the Church down the ages has shown for
nothing a more tender solicitude and motherly care than for the training
of her priests. She is not unaware that, as the religious and moral
conditions of peoples depend in great measure upon their priests, so too,
the future of the priest depends on the training he has received. The
words of the Holy Spirit apply no less truly to him than to others: "A
young man according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart
from it." Hence, the Church, moved by the Holy Spirit, has willed that
everywhere seminaries should be erected, where candidates for the
priesthood may be trained and educated with singular care.

66. The seminary is and should be the apple of your eye, Venerable
Brethren, who share with Us the heavy weight of the government of the
Church; it is, and should be, the chief object of your solicitude.
Careful above all should be the choice of superiors and professors; and,
in a most special manner, of the spiritual father, who has so delicate
and so important a part in the nurture of the priestly spirit. Give the
best of your clergy to your seminaries; do not fear to take them from
other positions. These positions may seem of greater moment, but in
reality their importance is not to be compared with that of the
seminaries, which is capital and indispensable. Seek also from elsewhere,
wherever you can find them, men really fitted for this noble task. Let
them be such as teach priestly virtues, rather by example than by words,
men who are capable of imparting, together with learning, a solid, manly
and apostolic spirit. Make piety, purity, discipline and study flourish
in the seminary. With prudent foresight, arm and fortify the immature
minds of students both against the temptations of the present, and
against the far more serious perils of the future. For they will be
exposed to all the temptations of the world, in the midst of which they
must live, "that they save all."

67. Now it is of great importance, as We have said, that priests should
have a learning adequate to the requirements of the age. For the
attainment of this, in addition to a solid classical education, there is
required both instruction and training in scholastic philosophy
"according to the method, and the mind and the principles of St. Thomas
Aquinas"--ad Angelicl Doctoris rationem, doctrinam et principia. This Our
Illustrious Predecessor, Leo XIII, has called the philosophia perennis.
It is essential to the future priest. It will help him to a thorough
understanding of dogma. It will effectively forearm him against modern
errors of whatever sort. It will sharpen his mind to distinguish truth
from falsehood. It will form him to habits of intellectual clearness, so
necessary in any studies or problems of the future. It will give him a
great superiority over others, whose mere erudition, perhaps, is wider
but who lack philosophical training.

68. There are some regions, where the dioceses are small, or students
unhappily few, or where there is a shortage of means and suitable men.
Hence it is impossible for every diocese to have its own seminary,
equipped according to all the regulations of Canon Law and other
prescriptions of the Church. Where this happens, it is most proper that
the Bishops of the district should help one another in brotherly charity,
should concentrate and unite their forces in a common seminary, fully
worthy of its high purpose. The great advantages of such concentration
amply repay the sacrifices entailed in obtaining it. It is indeed a
sacrifice, grievous to the fatherly heart of a Bishop, to see his
clerics, even for a time, taken away from their shepherd, who wishes
himself to give his future co-workers his own apostolic spirit; and to
see them taken away from the diocese which is to be the field of their
ministry. But these sacrifices will all be repaid with interest when
these clerics return as priests. They will be better formed, and more
richly endowed with spiritual wealth, which they will spend with greater
generosity and with greater profit to their diocese. Therefore, We have
never let pass an opportunity to favor, and encourage and foster such
efforts. Often, in fact, We have suggested and recommended them. On Our
part, also, wherever We thought it necessary, We have Ourselves, as is
well known, erected or improved or enlarged several such regional
seminaries, not without heavy expense and trouble; and We will continue
in the future, by the help of God, to apply Ourselves with all zeal to
this work; for We hold it to be the most conducive to the good of the
Church.

69. This achievement in the erection and management of Seminaries for the
education of future priests deserves all praise. But it would be of
little avail, were there any lack of care in the selecting and approving
of candidates. In this selection and approval, all who are in charge of
the clergy should have some part: superiors, spiritual directors and
confessors, each in the manner and within the limits proper to his
office. They must indeed foster and strengthen vocations with sedulous
care; but with no less zeal they must discourage unsuitable candidates,
and in good time send them away from a path not meant for them. Such are
all youths who show a lack of necessary fitness, and who are, therefore,
unlikely to persevere in the priestly ministry both worthily and
becomingly. In these matters hesitation and delay is a serious mistake
and may do serious harm. It is far better to dismiss an unfit student in
the early stages; but if, for any reason, such dismissal has been
delayed, the mistake should be corrected as soon as it is known. There
should be no human consideration or false mercy. Such false mercy would
be a real cruelty, not only towards the Church, to whom would be given an
unfitted or unworthy minister, but also towards the youth himself; for,
thus embarked upon a false course, he would find himself exposed to the
risk of becoming a stumbling block to himself and to others with peril of
eternal ruin.

70. The Head of the seminary lovingly follows the youths entrusted to his
care and studies the inclinations of each. His watchful and experienced
eye will perceive, without difficulty, whether one or other have, or have
not, a true priestly vocation. This, as you well know, Venerable
Brethren, is not established so much by some inner feeling or devout
attraction, which may sometimes be absent or hardly perceptible; but
rather by a right intention in the aspirant together with a combination
of physical, intellectual and moral qualities which make him fitted for
such a state of life. He must look to the priesthood solely from the
noble motive of consecrating himself to the service of God and the
salvation of souls; he must likewise have, or at least strive earnestly
to acquire, solid piety, perfect purity of life and sufficient knowledge
such as We have explained on a previous page. Thus he shows that he is
called by God to the priestly state. Whoever, on the other hand, urged
on, perhaps, by ill-advised parents, looks to this state as a means to
temporal and earthly gains which he imagines and desires in the
priesthood, as happened more often in the past; whoever is intractable,
unruly or undisciplined, has small taste for piety, is not industrious,
and shows little zeal for souls; whoever has a special tendency to
sensuality, and after long trial has not proved he can conquer it;
whoever has no aptitude for study and who will be unable to follow the
prescribed courses with due satisfaction; all such cases show that they
are not intended for the priesthood. By letting them go on almost to the
threshold of the sanctuary, superiors only make it ever more difficult
for them to draw back; and, perhaps, even cause them to accept ordination
through human respect, without vocation and without the priestly spirit.

71. Let Superiors of seminaries, together with the spiritual directors
and confessors, reflect how weighty a responsibility they assume before
God, before the Church, and before the youths themselves, if they do not
take all means at their disposal to avoid a false step . We declare too,
that confessors and spiritual directors could also be responsible for
such a grave error; and not indeed because they can take any outward
action, since that is severely forbidden them by their most delicate
office itself, and often also by the inviolable sacramental seal; but
because they can have a great influence on the souls of the individual
students, and with paternal firmness they should guide each according to
his spiritual needs. Should the superiors, for whatever reason, not take
steps or show themselves weak, then especially should confessors and
spiritual directors admonish the unsuited and unworthy, without any
regard to human consideration, of their obligation to retire while yet
there is time; in this they should keep to the most secure opinion, which
in this case is the one most in favor of the penitent, for it saves him
from a step which could be for him eternally fatal. If somethimes they
should not see so clearly that an obligation is to be imposed, let them,
at least, use all the authority which springs from their office and the
paternal affection they have for their spiritual sons, and so induce
those who have not the necessary fitness to retire of their own free
will. Let confessors remember the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori on a
similar matter: "In general . . . in such cases the more severity the
confessor uses with his penitents, the more will he help them towards
their salvation; and on the contrary, the more cruel will he be the more
he is benign." St. Thomas of Villanova called such over-kind confessors:
Impie pios--"wickedly kind"; "such charity is contrary to charity."

72. The chief responsibility, however, rests with the Bishop, who
according to the severe law of the Church "should not confer holy orders
on anyone, unless from positive signs he is morally certain of canonical
fitness; otherwise he not only sins grievously, but also places himself
in danger of sharing in the sins of others." This canon is a clear echo
of the warning of the Apostle to Timothy: "Impose not hands lightly on
any man, neither be partaker of other men's sins." "To impose hands
lightly," Our Predecessor St. Leo the Great expounds, "is to confer the
sacerdotal dignity on persons not sufficiently approved: before maturity
in age, before merit of obedience, before a time of testing, before trail
of knowledge; and to be a partaker of other men's sins is for the
ordainer to become as unworthy as the unworthy man whom he ordains"; for
as St. John Chrysostom says, "You who have conferred the dignity upon him
must take the responsibility of both his past and his future sins."

73. These are severe words, Venerable Brethren, yet still more dreadful
is the responsibility which they declare, a responsibility which
justified the great Bishop of Milan, St. Charles Borromeo in saying: "In
this matter, my slightest neglect can involve me in very great sin."
Listen to the warning of Chrysostom whom We have just quoted: "Impose not
hands after the first trial nor after the second, nor yet the third; but
only after frequent and careful observation and searching examination"; a
warning which applies in an especial way to the question of the
uprightness of life in candidates to the priesthood: "It is not enough,"
says the holy Bishop and Doctor St. Alphonsus de Liguori, "that the
Bishop know nothing evil of the ordinand, but he must have positive
evidence of his uprightness." Hence, do not fear to seem harsh if, in
virtue of your rights and fulfilling your duty, you require such positive
proofs of worthiness before ordination; or if you defer an ordination in
case of doubt; because, as St. Gregory the Great eloquently teaches:
place the weight of the building upon them at once. Delay many days,
until they are dried and made fit for the purpose; because if this
precaution be omitted, very soon they will break under the weight"; or,
to use the short but clear expression of the Angelic Doctor: "Holiness
must come before holy orders . . . hence the burden of orders should be
placed only on walls seasoned with sanctity, freed of the damp of sins."

74. In short, let all canonic prescriptions be carefully obeyed, and let
everyone put into practice the wise rules on this subject, which We
caused to be promulgated a few years ago by the Sacred Congregation of
the Sacraments. Thus will the Church be saved much grief, and the
faithful much scandal.

75. We have also had similar regulations sent to Religious; and while We
urge upon all concerned their faithful observance, We now recall them to
the attention of all heads of religious institutes, who have youths
destined for the priesthood. They should consider as addressed also to
them what We have recommended above concerning the formation of the
clergy; since it is they who present their students for ordination, and
the Bishop usually relies upon their judgment.

76. Bishops and religious superiors should not be deterred from this
needful severity by fear of diminishing the number of priests for the
diocese or institute. The Angelic Doctor St. Thomas long ago proposed
this difficulty, and answers it with his usual lucidity and wisdom: "God
never abandons His Church; and so the number of priests will be always
sufficient for the needs of the faithful, provided the worthy are
advanced and the unworthy sent away." The same Doctor and Saint, basing
himself upon the severe words quoted by the fourth Ecumenical Council of
the Lateran, observes to Our purpose: "Should it ever become impossible
to maintain the present number, it is better to have a few good priests
than a multitude of bad ones." It was in this sense that We Ourselves, on
the solemn occasion of the international pilgrimage of seminarists during
the year of Our priestly jubilee, addressing an imposing group of Italian
Archbishops and Bishops, reaffirmed that one well trained priest is worth
more than many trained badly or scarcely at all. For such would be not
merely unreliable but a likely source of sorrow to the Church. What a
terrifying account, Venerable Brethren, We shall have to give to the
Prince of Shepherds, to the Supreme Bishop of souls, if we have handed
over these souls to incompetent guides and incapable leaders.

77. Yet although it remains unquestionably true that mere numbers should
not be the chief concern of those engaged in the education of the clergy,
yet at the same time, all should do their utmost to increase the ranks of
strong and zealous workers in the vineyard of the Lord; the more so, as
the moral needs of society are growing greater instead of less. Of all
the means to this noble end, the easiest and the most effective is
prayer. This is, moreover, a means within the power of everyone. It
should be assiduously used by all, as it was enjoined by Jesus Christ
Himself: "The harvest, indeed, is great but the laborers are few. Pray
ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He send forth laborers into
His harvest." What prayer could be more acceptable to the Sacred Heart of
our Savior? What prayer is more likely to be answered as promptly and
bounteously as this, which meets so nearly the burning desire of that
Divine Heart?" "Ask therefore, and it will be given unto you"; ask for
good and holy priests and Our Lord will not refuse to send them to His
Church, as ever He has done throughout the centuries. It has been, in
fact, precisely in times which seemed least propitious, that the number
of priestly vocations increased. This is clear from Catholic hagiography
of the nineteenth century a century rich in splendid names on the rolls
both of secular and regular clergy. One has only to think of those three
splendid saints whom We Ourselves had the consolation of canonizing--St.
John Mary Vianney, St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo and St. John Bosco, men
of truly lofty holiness, each in his special way.

78. Now God Himself liberally sows in the generous hearts of many young
men this precious seed of vocation; but human means of cultivating this
seed must not be neglected. There are innumerable ways and countless holy
means suggested by the Holy Spirit; and all such salutary works which
strive to preserve, promote and help priestly vocations, We praise and
bless with all Our heart. "No matter how we seek," says the lovable Saint
of charity, Vincent de Paul, "we shall always discover ourselves unable
to contribute to anything more great than to the making of good priests."
In truth nothing is more acceptable to God, of more honor to the church,
and more profitable to souls than the precious gift of a holy priest. If
he who offers even a cup of water to one of the least of the disciples of
Christ "shall not lose his reward," what reward will he receive who
places, so to speak, into the pure hands of a young priest the sacred
chalice, in which is contained the Blood of Redemption; who helps him to
lift it up to heaven, a pledge of peace and of blessing for mankind?

79. And here Our thoughts turn gladly to that Catholic Action, so much
desired and promoted and defended by Us. For by Catholic Action the laity
share in the hierarchical apostolate of the Church, and hence it cannot
neglect this vital problem of priestly vocations. Comfort has filled Our
heart to see the associates of Catholic Action everywhere distinguishing
themselves in all fields of Christian activity, but especially in this.
Certainly the richest reward of such activity is that really wonderful
number of priestly and religious vocations which continue to flourish in
their organizations for the young. This shows that these organizations
are both a fruitful ground of virtue, and also a well-guarded and well
cultivated nursery, where the most beautiful and delicate flowers may
develop without danger. May all members of Catholic Action feel the honor
which thus falls on their association. Let them be persuaded that, in no
better way than by this work for an increase in the ranks of the secular
and regular clergy, can the Catholic laity really participate in the high
dignity of the "kingly priesthood" which the Prince of the Apostles
attributes to the whole body of the redeemed.

80. But the first and most natural place where the flowers of the
sanctuary should almost spontaneously grow and bloom, remains always the
truly and deeply Christian family. Most of the saintly bishops and
priests whose "praise the Church declares," owe the beginning of their
vocation and their holiness to example and teaching of a father strong in
faith and manly virtues, of a pure and devoted mother, and of a family in
which the love of God and neighbor, joined with simplicity of life, has
reigned supreme. To this ordinary rule of divine Providence exceptions
are rare and only serve to prove the rule.

81. In an ideal home the parents, like Tobias and Sara, beg of God a
numerous posterity "in which Thy name may be blessed forever," and
receive it as a gift from heaven and a precious trust; they strive to
instill into their children from their early years a holy fear of God,
and true Christian piety; they foster a tender devotion to Jesus, the
Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Virgin; they teach respect and
veneration for holy places and persons. In such a home the children see
in their parents a model of an upright, industrious and pious life; they
see their parents holily loving each other in Our Lord, see them approach
the Holy Sacraments frequently and not only obey the laws of the Church
concerning abstinence and fasting, but also observe the spirit of
voluntary Christian mortification; they see them pray at home, gathering
around them all the family, that common prayer may rise more acceptably
to heaven; they find them compassionate towards the distress of others
and see them divide with the poor the much or the little they possess.

82. In such a home it is scarcely possible that, while all seek to copy
their parents, example, none of the sons should listen to and accept the
invitation of the Divine Master: "Come ye after Me, and I will make you
to be fishers of men." Blessed are those Christian parents who are able
to accept without fear the vocations of their sons, and see in them a
signal honor for their family and a mark of the special love and
providence of Our Lord. Still more blessed, if, as was often the case in
ages of greater faith, they make such divine visitations the object of
their earnest prayer.

83. Yet it must be confessed with sadness that only too often parents
seem to be unable to resign themselves to the priestly or religious
vocations of their children. Such parents have no scruple in opposing the
divine call with objections of all kinds; they even have recourse to
means which can imperil not only the vocation to a more perfect state,
but also the very conscience and the eternal salvation of those souls
they ought to hold so dear. This happens all too often in the case even
of parents who glory in being sincerely Christian and Catholic,
especially in the higher and more cultured classes. This is a deplorable
abuse, like that unfortunately prevalent in centuries past, of forcing
children into the ecclesiastical career without the fitness of a
vocation. It hardly does honor to those higher classes of society, which
are on the whole so scantily represented in the ranks of the clergy. The
lack of vocations in families of the middle and upper classes may be
partly explained by the dissipations of modern life, the seductions,
which especially in the larger cities, prematurely awaken the passions of
youth; the schools in many places which scarcely conduce to the
development of vocations. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that such a
scarcity reveals a deplorable falling off of faith in the families
themselves. Did they indeed look at things in the light of faith, what
greater dignity could Christian parents desire for their sons, what
ministry more noble, than that which, as We have said, is worthy of the
veneration of men and angels? A long and sad experience has shown that a
vocation betrayed--the word is not to be thought too strong--is a source
of tears not only for the sons but also for the ill-advised parents; and
God grant that such tears be not so long delayed as to become eternal
tears.

84. And now, finally, to you, dear Children. Priests of the Most High,
both secular and regular, the world over, We address Our words. You are
"Our glory and joy," you, who with such generosity bear the "burden of
the day and the heats," you, who so powerfully help Us and Our Brethren
of the Episcopate in fulfilling the duty of feeding the flock of Christ.
To you We send Our Paternal thanks and Our warmest encouragement. We know
and fully appreciate your admirable zeal; and to it, in the needs of the
present, We make this heartfelt appeal. These needs are becoming daily
graver. All the more must your redeeming work grow and intensify; for
"you are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world."

85. If, however, your work is to be blessed by God and produce abundant
fruit, it must be rooted in holiness of life. Sanctity, as We said above,
is the chief and most important endowment of the Catholic priest. Without
it other gifts will not go far; with it, even supposing other gifts be
meager, the priest can work marvels. We have the example of St. Joseph of
Cupertino, and in times nearer to our own of that humble Cure d'Ars, St.
John Mary Vianney, of whom We have already spoken; whom We have willed to
set up before all parish priests as their model and heavenly Patron.
Therefore with the Apostle of the Gentiles, We say to you: "Behold your
vocation"; and beholding it, you cannot fail to value ever more highly
the grace given to you in ordination and to strive to "walk worthily of
the vocation in which you are called."

86. In this striving you will be most wonderfully helped by a practice
commended by Our Predecessor of holy memory Pius X. This commendation is
contained in that "Exhortation to the Catholic Clergy," which he wrote
with such unction and affection. This We warmly recommend you to read. In
it, among all the means to preserve and increase the grace of the
priesthood, he placed first the use of the Spiritual Exercises. This
means We Ourselves have also frequently recommended; and particularly in
Our Encyclical Letter Mens Nostra, We have paternally and solemnly urged
it upon all Our sons, but more especially upon Our Priests. As the year
of Our priestly Jubilee drew to a close, We could find no better and more
salutary reminder of that happy anniversary, than to give to Our sons an
invitation, through the above-mentioned letter, to draw more copiously
from the waters of life springing up into life everlasting, this
inexhaustible fountain providentially opened by God to His Church. Again
now, to you, Our Dear Brethren, who are all the closer to us because you
work more directly with Us to establish the kingdom of Christ upon earth,
We believe We cannot give better proof of Our Fatherly affection than by
exhorting you most fervently to make use of this means of sanctification,
to the best of your abilities. Take for your guide those principles and
norms laid down by Us in the above-mentioned Encyclical. It is not enough
to withdraw to the sacred seclusion of the Spiritual Exercises only at
the intervals and in the exact measure prescribed by ecclesiastical law
but you should enter into retreat more often and for longer periods, as
far as possible to you, and you should consecrate, in addition, a day of
each month to more fervent prayer and greater recollection, according to
the practice of priests of great zeal.

87. In such retreats and recollection even one who may have entered in
sortem Domini, not by the straight way of a true vocation, but for
earthly or less noble motives, will be able to "stir up the grace of
God." For he, too, is now indissolubly bound to God and the Church, and
so nothing remains for him but to follow the advice of St. Bernard: "If
sanctity of life did not precede, let it at least follow . . . for the
future make good your ways and ambitions and make holy your ministry."
The grace of God, and specifically that grace proper to the sacrament of
Holy Orders, will not fail to lend aid, if he sincerely wishes to correct
whatever was originally amiss in his purpose or conduct. However it may
have come about that he undertook the obligations of the priesthood, the
abiding grace of this divine sacrament will not be wanting in power to
enable him to fulfill them.

88. Each and all of you, then, from the recollection and prayer of a
retreat will come out fortified against the snares of the world,
quickened by lively zeal for the salvation of souls, and enkindled with
the love of God, as befits priests in times like the present. For
together with so much corruption and diabolical malice, there is
everywhere felt a powerful religious and spiritual awakening, a breath of
the Holy Spirit, sent forth over the world to sanctify it, and to renew
with its creative force the face of the earth. Filled with the Holy Ghost
you will communicate this love of God like a holy fire to all who
approach you, becoming in a true sense bearers of Christ in a disordered
society, which can hope for salvation from Jesus Christ alone, since He,
and He alone, is ever "the true Savior of the world."

89. Before concluding, we turn Our thoughts and Our words, with very
special tenderness to you who are still in your studies for the
priesthood; and urge you from the depth of Our heart to prepare
yourselves with all seriousness for the great task to which God calls
you. You are the hope of the Church and of the people, who look for so
much, or rather everything, to you. For to you they look for that living
and life-giving knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, in which is eternal
life. In piety, purity, humility, obedience, discipline and study strive
then to make yourselves priests after the Heart of God. We assure you
that in the task of fitting yourselves for the priesthood by solid virtue
and learning, no care, no diligence, no energy can be too great; because
upon it so largely depend all your future apostolic labors. See to it
that on the day of your ordination to the priesthood, the Church find you
in fact such as she wishes you to be, that is "replenished with heavenly
wisdom, irreproachable in life and established in the ways of grace," so
that "the sweet odor of your life may be a delight to the Church of
Christ, that both by word and good example you may build the house, that
is, the family of God."

90. Only thus can you continue the glorious traditions of the Catholic
priesthood and hasten that most auspicious hour when it will be given to
all humanity to enjoy the fruits of the peace of Christ in the kingdom of
Christ.

91. And before concluding Our letter, to you, Venerable Brethren in the
Episcopate, and through you to all Our beloved sons of both clergy, We
are happy to add a solemn proof of Our gratitude for the holy cooperation
by which, under your guidance and example, this Holy Year of Redemption
has been made so fruitful to souls. We wish to perpetuate the memory and
the glory of that Priesthood, of which Ours and yours, Venerable
Brethren, and that of all priests of Christ, is but a participation and
continuation. We have thought it opportune, after consulting the Sacred
Congregation of Rites, to prepare a special votive Mass, for Thursdays,
according to liturgical rules: De summo et aeterno Iesu Christi
Sacerdotio, to honor "Jesus Christ, Supreme and Eternal Priest." It is
Our pleasure and consolation to publish this Mass together with this, Our
Encyclical Letter.

92. There only remains for Us, Venerable Brethren, to impart to all the
Apostolic and paternal Benediction, which all expect and desire from
their common Father. May it be a blessing of thanksgiving for all the
benefits poured out by Divine Providence in these extraordinary Holy
Years of the Redemption; may it be a blessing of good augury for the new
year which is about to begin.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, the twentieth day of December, 1935, in
the fifty-sixth anniversary of Our priesthood, the fourteenth of Our
Pontificate.